1. Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to a transflective liquid crystal display device (LCD) having a thin film transistor and a manufacturing method thereof. More particularly, aspects of the present invention relate to a transflective LCD having a thin film transistor and a manufacturing method thereof, which can reduce manufacturing cost and improve the reliability of a display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As demands on various types of display devices have recently increased with the development of information society, research on flat panel display devices, such as a liquid crystal display device (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a field emission display device (FED), an electrophoretic display device (EPD) and an organic light emitting display device (OLED) have increased. Among these display devices, the LCD, using the translucency of liquid crystals, is a device that is not self-luminescent. Therefore, LCDs may be generally classified as a transmissive LCD that displays images using a built-in light source such as a backlight, and a reflective LCD that displays images using external incident light such as natural light.
The transmissive LCD has a backlight unit mounted on the rear thereof, and the backlight unit itself is used as a light source. Hence, the transmissive LCD has a screen having a high luminance. However, the transmissive LCD is not well suited to be used in portable devices, and the like, due to its large power consumption. On the other hand, in the reflective LCD, natural light incident from an exterior of the reflective LCD is selectively transmitted through the switching operation of a liquid crystal layer and again reflected from a reflective layer so as to be emitted towards a front of the reflective LCD, thereby displaying images. Since the reflective LCD itself has no light source, its luminance is low, and it is difficult to use the reflective LCD in a dark place.
Recently, a transflective LCD has been developed to overcome disadvantages of the transmissive and reflective LCDs. In the transflective LCD, a reflective layer is formed to reflect light incident from the exterior of the transflective LCD or light from a backlight unit is transmitted through a transmissive window, thereby displaying images. However, since a number of processes and masks, used to manufacture in the transflective LCD, is increased, manufacturing cost is increased, and a manufacturing process is complicated. Also, as the manufacturing process is complicated, productivity, or manufacturing yield, is deteriorated.